A Bird in a Gilded Cage
is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season of The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and twenty-eighth episode of the series. Summary DAMON TRAVELS TO THE 1903 PRISON WORLD - With the help of Bonnie and Kai, Damon and Elena set forth a plan to rescue Damon’s mother, Lily, who is trapped in the 1903 prison world. Meanwhile, when Caroline's plan for Stefan backfires, she is left to pick up the pieces. Elsewhere, back at Whitmore College, Enzo and Alaric’s attempt to reel Caroline back in doesn’t quite go as planned when they realize they're outmaneuvered. Lastly, an unexpected gift from Bonnie leaves Damon shaken to his core. Plot }} Cast Main Cast *Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert *Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore *Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore *Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert (credit only) *Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett *Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes *Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan (credit only) *Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (credit only) *Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman *Michael Malarkey as Enzo Recurring Cast *Jodi Lyn O’Keefe as Jo Laughlin *Annie Wersching as Lily Salvatore *Tristin Mays as Sarah Nelson *Chris Wood as Kai Parker Trivia *Antagonist: Stefan and Caroline *The episode title'' refers to Stefan and Damon's mother, Lily Salvatore, and the Prison World that she's in. **This is the third time this season that Elena and Damon have worked together since Damon's return from the 1994 Prison World. *This is the first episode to feature two vampires, Stefan and Caroline, with their humanity turned off. *This episode is the second episode to feature Spring Break, the first was ''While You Were Sleeping. *Enzo and Alaric meet for the first time on-screen in this episode. They had been in contact at the beginning of the season when looking for a lead to Damon's whereabouts, but not shared a scene. *Stefan makes Caroline's life miserable by 'teaching' her how to exact proper revenge when your humanity is off, so that she will let go of her carefully controlled life and enjoy herself fully instead. Eventually, after resisting him all day, she gives in when he uses her desire to feed on human blood against her. **Stefan and Caroline have sex for the first time. *With this episode Elena and Caroline have both had sex with the same three men in the series. While Matt, Stefan and Damon have had sex with the same three female characters: Elena, Rebekah and Caroline. *Lily tells Elena and Damon of how she became a vampire in 1858 at the TB ward where she was fed vampire blood as well as the reason she left her sons in her husband's care instead of taking them with her. She said it was to protect them from her. **Based on the date given by Lily for her imprisonment on October 31st, 1903. This means she was placed in the prison world one month before the Wright bothers flight at Kittyhawk, NC. *Damon greets his mother Lily in the same manner in which he greeted Stefan in the ''Pilot'' with "Hello, Mother" instead of saying brother. *Damon tells Elena that his mother will only be a means to bring back Stefan's humanity, nothing more and Elena agrees with him. However she also believes there might be some good in Lily and that it will take time for him to see it. *It's revealed that in 1903 that the same house that Stefan and Damon grew up in is still standing. *Elena invites herself on the trip to the 1903 Prison World to meet as she says the woman who gave birth to the 2 epic loves of her life. While there she finds a picture of Damon with his mother when he was a child at first mistaking it for one of Stefan with Lily, she takes the photo with her as she says there are no baby pictures of her boyfriend. *Lily claims to only take two drops of blood in a week due to the low blood supply in the Prison World. *Lily Salvatore leaves the 1903 prison world and Bonnie and Damon arrange for Kai to be left behind. *Bonnie, while in 1994 getting Silas's headstone, discovers that the cure for vampirism still existed in the prison world. She gives it to Damon so that he can decide what to do with it. He tells her that he no longer wishes to give Elena the cure but for someone else, possibly his mother Lily. *Bonnie's mother, Abby, is mentioned in this episode. When Bonnie gives the cure to Damon, she tells him that she had planned to give it to her mother but she was 'surprisingly happy as a vampire. *The cure would also exist in the 1903 Prison World as well, the same as Silas' tombstone infused with Qetsiyah's blood and magic. Kai like Bonnie can make use of Silas' Tombstone to free himself and Lily's vampire "Family". *Jo agrees to hold Sarah for a day until Elena's blood is out her system so she doesn't become another Salvatore vampire as they too are aware that Sarah Nelson is a Salvatore. *Enzo gives up on his plan to have revenge on Stefan, having grown disillusionned with it after Alaric told him that it was only a way to deal with his loneliness. He then tells Sarah the truth and apparently tells her about her parentage. Continuity * Jo, Lily and Alaric were last seen in ''Let Her Go''. * Giuseppe Salvatore was mentioned in this episode by Lily and Damon. He was last seen in ''Handle with Care'' as a flash of Stefan's memories. * Going by the rules of the show, the college girl should've turned into a vampire since she had Caroline's blood in her system before she died. Behind the Scenes Cultural References *"A Bird in a Gilded Cage" is a song composed by Arthur J. Lamb (lyrics) and Harry Von Tilzer (music). It was a sentimental ballad (or tear-jerker) that became one of the most popular songs of 1900. ** This title marks a shift from naming each episode this season after songs released in 1994, to songs from the early 20th century, which is consistent with a transition from the 1994 prison world to the 1903 prison world. *"Hard Knock Life" is a song by Jay-Z. Enzo quotes it while talking to Caroline. Quotes Extended Promo :[[Stefan Salvatore|'Stefan']] (to [[Damon Salvatore|'Damon']]): "Where do we keep our weapons?" :Damon: "Pardon?" :Damon '''(to[[Stefan Salvatore| '''Stefan]]): "Not a good time for a humanity flip, brother." :Stefan:' '"Stay out of my way today." :Elena (to''' Damon): "You can't blame it on Stefan." :Damon: "Stefan without his humanity is one artery away from Stefan the Ripper." :Stefan (to '''Caroline): "This is me forcing you to let go until you break." :Caroline: "I'm not gonna let you ruin my life." :Stefan: "Well then I'll just end it." ---- A Bird in a Gilded Cage Clip : Alaric '(to 'Enzo): "What are you doing here?" : Enzo: "Really hoping that you've gone off vervain to get blonde and her cohort from here to the Salvatore cellar without further drama." : Alaric: "You do realize I'm a human right? Up against two vampires without remorse." : Enzo: "Ah, I see! Your girl's got a bun in the oven and now you've gone all gun shy. Vamp-hearing." : Alaric: "You know. I'd actually like my child to grow up with a father." : Enzo: "It granted a cowardly father. Probably played catch and run from the ball, going fishing; flee from fish." : Alaric: "I have weapons in my apartment." ---- Inside Clip :[[Elena Gilbert|'Elena']] (to [[Damon Salvatore|'Damon']]): "Damon! What are you doing?" :[[Damon Salvatore|'Damon']]: "Looking for a... healthy outlet for my rage. Haven't found it yet." :[[Elena Gilbert|'Elena']]: "Your mother is alive?" :[[Damon Salvatore|'Damon']]: "Yep. Turns out she's been in a prison world snapshot of 1903 for over a century." :[[Elena Gilbert|'Elena']]: "Your mother is alive!" :[[Damon Salvatore|'Damon']]: "She's a ripper, Elena." :[[Lillian Salvatore|'Lily']] (to [[Damon Salvatore|'Damon']]): "Damon?" :[[Caroline Forbes|'Caroline']] (to [[Stefan Salvatore|'Stefan']]): "This is seriously about revenge?" :[[Stefan Salvatore|'Stefan']]: "Yes. It is." :[[Stefan Salvatore|'Stefan']] (to [[Caroline Forbes|'Caroline']]): "Like you, I'm prone to doing bad things when my humanity is off. But unlike you, I don't have an elaborate system to keep me in check." :[[Caroline Forbes|'Caroline']]: "Well, that's not my problem." :[[Stefan Salvatore|'Stefan']]: "Oh, I'm making it your problem." :[[Stefan Salvatore|'Stefan']] (to [[Caroline Forbes|'Caroline']]): "She has a really pretty neck." Multimedia Soundtrack Videos The Vampire Diaries 6x17 Extended Promo - A Bird in a Gilded Cage HD The Vampire Diaries - Inside Bird in a Gilded Cage The Vampire Diaries - A Bird in a Gilded Cage Clip The Vampire Diaries Rehash 6x17 "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" HD Pictures |-|Promotional= TVD_6x17_Caroline.jpg TVD_6x17_Steroline_2.jpg TVD_6x17_Steroline.jpg TVD_6x17_Bonnie.jpg TVD_6x17_Bamon.jpg The_Vampire_Diaries_-_Episode_6.17_-_A_Bird_in_a_Gilded_Cage_-_Promotional_Photos.jpg |-|Screencaps= H051A-319-VAM-110-01.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-02.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-03.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-04.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-05.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-06.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-07.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-08.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-09.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-10.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-11.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-12.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-13.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-14.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-15.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-16.jpg H051A-319-VAM-110-17.jpg 6X17-1-Enzo.jpg 6X17-2-Caroline.jpg 6X17-3-Enzo.jpg 6X17-4-EnzoCaroline.jpg 6X17-5-Caroline.jpg 6X17-6-Stefan.jpg 6X17-7-Damon.jpg 6X17-8-Stefan.jpg 6X17-9-DamonStefan.jpg 6X17-10-DamonStefan.jpg 6X17-11-Sarah.jpg 6X17-12-Jo.jpg 6X17-15-AlaricJo.jpg 6X17-13-Alaric.jpg 6X17-14-Jo.jpg 6X17-16-Damon.jpg 6X17-17-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-18-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-19-Damon.jpg 6X17-20-Elena.jpg 6X17-21-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-22-Damon.jpg 6X17-23-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-24-Damon.jpg 6X17-25-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-26-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-27-Kai.jpg 6X17-28-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-29-Kai.jpg 6X17-30-Kai.jpg 6X17-31-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-32-Caroline.jpg 6X17-33-Stefan.jpg 6X17-34-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-35-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-36-KaiBonnie.jpg 6X17-37-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-38-KaiBonnieElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-39-KaiBonnieElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-41-ElenaBonnie.jpg 6X17-42-Stefan.jpg 6X17-43-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-44-Caroline.jpg 6X17-45-Stefan.jpg 6X17-46-Caroline.jpg 6X17-47-Jo.jpg 6X17-48-Alaric.jpg 6X17-49-Enzo.jpg 6X17-50-Alaric.jpg 6X17-51-EnzoAlaric.jpg 6X17-52-Stefan.jpg 6X17-53-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-54-Damon.jpg 6X17-55-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-56-Lily.jpg 6X17-57-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-58-Lily.jpg 6X17-59-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-60-ElenaDamonLily.jpg 6X17-61-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-62-Caroline.jpg 6X17-63-Stefan.jpg 6X17-64-Caroline.jpg 6X17-65-Stefan.jpg 6X17-66-CarolineStefan.jpg 6X17-67-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-68-Kai.jpg 6X17-69-KaiBonnie.jpg 6X17-70-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-71-Kai.jpg 6X17-72-LilyElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-73-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-74-Lily.jpg 6X17-75-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-76-Lily.jpg 6X17-77-EnzoAlaric.jpg 6X17-78-Stefan.jpg 6X17-79-Caroline.jpg 6X17-80-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-81-EnzoAlaric.jpg 6X17-82-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-83-Lily.jpg 6X17-84-Lily.jpg 6X17-85-Elena.jpg 6X17-86-Damon.jpg 6X17-87-KaiBonnie.jpg 6X17-88-KaiBonnie.jpg 6X17-89-KaiBonnie.jpg 6X17-90-Kai.jpg 6X17-91-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-92-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-93-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-94-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-95-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-96-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-97-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-98-Lily.jpg 6X17-99-LilyDamon.jpg 6X17-100-Bonnie.jpg 6X17-101-Kai.jpg 6X17-102-Enzo.jpg 6X17-103-Sarah.jpg 6X17-104-Enzo.jpg 6X17-105-Sarah.jpg 6X17-106-Sarah.jpg 6X17-107-Jo.jpg 6X17-108-JoAlaric.jpg 6X17-109-Alaric.jpg 6X17-110-Jo.jpg 6X17-111-Alaric.jpg 6X17-112-Damon.jpg 6X17-113-Lily.jpg 6X17-114-Damon.jpg 6X17-115-Lily.jpg 6X17-116-DamonLily.jpg 6X17-117-Kai.jpg 6X17-118-Kai.jpg 6X17-119-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-120-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X17-121-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-122-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X17-123-Bonnie.jpg |-| Behind the Scenes= 6x17 Candice.jpg 6x17 Chris.jpg 6x17 Kat.jpg 6x17 Kat-1.jpg 6x17 Michael.jpg 6x17 Paul.jpg 6x17 Ian.jpg 6x17 Snow.jpg 6x17 Bonkai.jpg 6x17 DE.jpg 6x17 Joshua Butler Delena.jpg 6x17 Joshua Butler Elena.jpg 6x17Kai1.png 6x17Kai2.png Kai-and-lily.jpg|Kai and Lily Lily-and-damon.jpg|Lily and Damon Mama-salvatore-on-set.jpg|Mama Salvatore on set Salvatore-family.jpg|Salvatore family References See also Category:Vampire Diaries Episode Guide Category:Season 6